Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Field Blewit along with all the Field Blewit containing recipes presented on this site, with 1 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Field Blewit as a major wild food ingredient.

The Field Blewit, Lepista personata [syn Clitocybe saeva, Lepista saeva, Tricholoma personatum, Rhodopaxillus savus) (also known as Blue Leg) is a species of basidomycete fungus (filamentous fungi composed of hyphae that reproduce sexually) and is a member of the Tricholomataceae family of the Agaricales (agaricus) order that have pale pink spore prints. It is a fairly common species in undisturbed grassland. It is typically gregarious in nature and is found in clumps and sometimes in rings in grassland and on woodland margins. Typically if fruits initially in September but is most common October and can continues fruiting through November. This is quite a large mushroom (it can grow between 4 and 10cm tall and 5 to 12 cm broad). The caps start out closed and convex but flatten out as the fungus matures and can even become concave. The most distinctive feature is the lilac-tinged stem with the colour persisting even as they mature. The stems themselves are thick and often appear swollen at the base. The gills are sinuate, crowded and are coloured from off white to flesh toned. The flesh is firm and resists cutting and the flesh is typically mealy in scent, but sometimes can smell more unpleasant with a putrid overtone.

The firm flesh and mushroom-like but slightly nutty flavour make this an excellent eating mushroom and it is highly prized in North America. It is excellent fried in butter and once lightly cooked in this fashion it can be stored for later use by ether drying or pickling. It should be noted that field blewits are often infested with fly larvae, which is why they should always be cooked before preserving. It should be noted that though the field blewit is generally considered an excellent eating species it can cause allergic reactions in some sensitive individuals and should always be tried only in small quantities if you have not consumed them before.

In most mycologists' opinion, the field blewits are considered excellent mushrooms, despite their coloration. Blewits can be eaten as a cream sauce or sautéed in butter, but it is important not to eat them raw, which could lead to indigestion. They can also be cooked like tripe or as omelette filling. Field blewits are often infested with fly larvae and don't store very well; they should therefore be used soon after picking. They are also very porous, so they are best picked on a dry day.



If picked in grassland then there is no species with which the field blewit can be confused. Indeed, it is most often confused with its close cousin the wood blewit which has lilac gills and which is also an excellent eating species. It should be noted, however, that certain species of Cortinarius also have purple stems but these can easily be distinguished as they have a cobweb-like veil protecting the gills and have a rusty brown spore print. Under no circumstances should these be consumed as they are very poisonous.

For other edible mushrooms, see the guide to edible mushrooms

References:

[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants